The Reindeer and the Dog
by breathmint25
Summary: Five-year-old Harry Potter makes some new friends on Christmas morning. One of Father Christmas's reindeer is in Godric's Hollow! And there's a big, black puppy too...An AU story.


Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

AN: Inspired by the fact that Christmas is in 2 weeks! And that picture on Tumblr of a deer and a dog in a cop car. Also, I know HP wouldn't be as good if Harry wasn't an orphan, but I love Harry-with-loving-parents fics, so I decided to write one.

Five-year-old Harry Potter flung off his blankets. It was Christmas! Christmas! Father Christmas had come in the night and brought lots of presents, and Harry wanted to see if he had gotten the broomstick he wanted. He jammed on his slippers, yanked on his robe, and opened his mouth, determined to yell until Mummy, Daddy, and Amelia were all-awake. Christmas morning was no time for sleeping.

But as he passed by his window, he shut his mouth. For there outside in the freshly fallen snow, was one of Father Christmas's reindeer! Right here in Godric's Hollow!

It was a magnificent-looking reindeer, tall and proud. It had large antlers and messy blackish-brown fur with black rims around its eyes, much like Harry and his dad both wore. It wasn't wearing a harness like Harry would have expected, but perhaps the deer had managed to get it off. It was swiveling its head back and forth, obviously looking for something. After a few seconds, the deer found its desired object as a new animal arrived on the scene.

Harry gasped in delight as a big, black dog emerged from behind the broom shed. The pair were obviously friends as the reindeer butted the dog gently. Perhaps, the reindeer had gotten himself loose from Father Christmas's sleigh in order to stay and play with his friend.

The pair began to race around the yard playfully. Harry was entranced. He wanted to play with them too! Forget Christmas presents, how often did one get to play with one of Father Christmas's reindeer and a big puppy? He quickly removed his slippers and padded downstairs.

In the front hall, Harry pulled on his boots, scarf, hat, and coat. Mummy was always making him come inside when he wasn't properly dressed for the weather. He didn't want to have to leave the reindeer and the dog!

He made his way to the kitchen as quietly as he could manage and pulled a chair to the cold cupboard. He found some cooked bacon for the dog and a carrot for the reindeer. He and Amelia had left a carrot out the night before for the reindeer, but this reindeer might need some breakfast too!

Setting his prizes on the chair he dragged it to the back door, where he was relieved to see the reindeer and dog were still playing. He was afraid that they might have been taken back to the North Pole while he was preparing things. He opened the backdoor just an inch, holding his breath. Usually Mummy and Daddy had wards on the house for security reasons. When no alarm was heard, he dragged the chair back to its place, picked up his gifts, and headed outdoors, managing to close the door mostly shut.

Neither of the animals noticed their audience, too intent on their game. Harry was slightly overwhelmed by their closeness. Out here, both the reindeer and the dog looked so _big._ Harry was just over three feet tall. The dog was exactly his size and the reindeer nearly doubled that. Harry was a tiny bit nervous.

But he had no time to be afraid. The reindeer had stopped playing and Harry swore the beast was looking straight at him. The dog butted his companion again, not noticing the sudden lack of response. But as the deer started making his way towards Harry, the dog let out a joyful bark and quickly outran his friend.

Harry giggled when the dog came close. It was a BIG dog, all black and furry. But his eyes seemed familiar, gray and kind—Harry was sure he had seen those eyes before. He wasn't frightened, not even when the giant stag arrived and towered over them both.

'Hello Mr. Puppy!" he exclaimed, gingerly reaching out to pet the canine. The dog lowered his head, allowing Harry to pat him on the nose. Harry giggled again and reached into his pocket, pulling out the bacon.

"I brought this for you!" The dog licked his lips and gobbled up the bacon once Harry had set it on the snow. Harry didn't think anything unusual about the fact that the dog was giving him space and not attacking the food out of Harry's hand as most dogs would.

When the dog was finished, he lifted his face up and licked Harry's cheek. Another giggle was his reward.

"Good boy! Nice puppy!" Harry said, patting the dog again. There was a restless shifting beside him. The reindeer was watching them, clearly wanting some attention too.

"Oh I'm sorry, Mr. Reindeer! I brought you food too! Me and Amelia, that's my sister, put out carrots for you and your siblings last night, but I thought you might need some breakfast! Did Father Christmas leave you behind? Or did you stay here for your friend?"

The reindeer of course couldn't answer, but Harry would have sworn he saw a smile. The beast's eyes seemed to be crinkling and Harry was once again struck with a sense of familiarity. He KNEW he had seen those eyes before!

The deer leaned his head and gently ate the carrot out of Harry's hand while Harry patted his head. It was such a big deer, but so nice! Once the deer had finished, he bent his legs and sat down. The dog took his cue and settled down into a ball. Harry was now taller than both of them and the thought made him giggle.

"I'm taller than you now!" he boasted.

Once again, there seemed to be smiles on the animal faces but Harry didn't notice. He was trying to think of a way to get the animals home. They shouldn't have to miss Christmas!

"Which one are you, Mr. Reindeer? Dasher? Dancer? Prancer, Vixen, Comet? Cupid Donner, or Blitzen? You can't be Rudolph, your nose isn't red!"

The reindeer had not made any movement at any of the names. Harry felt slightly frustrated.

"Don't you know your name? There's a whole Muggle song about the names of Father Christmas's reindeer! Mummy taught it to me! You must know it, Mummy says Father Christmas visits Muggle children too!"

The reindeer just stared at Harry, slightly apologetically. Harry looked into the reindeer's eyes, trying to figure out what to do. The deer's hazel eyes caused an image of his Daddy tucking him in the night before to suddenly pop into his head. He could see Daddy's hazel eyes glittering as he promised Harry that Father Christmas would come faster if little boys went to sleep.

"Mr. Reindeer!" Harry exclaimed excitedly, "You've got the same eyes as my Daddy!"

He bounced up and down wildly, missing the look of alarm the two animals shared. Once the excitement of his new discovery faded, Harry moved onto his next visitor.

"What about you, Mr. Puppy? Do you have a home? You haven't got a collar on."

The dog looked at Harry mournfully and Harry felt sad.

"You haven't got a home, Mr. Puppy? That's sad! Everyone should have a home on Christmas!"

There was a snort. The deer was shaking his head at the pair. The dog let out a whine and the deer hmphed. Harry giggled again. The animals were communicating!

He wondered if Mummy and Daddy would let him keep the puppy. He doubted it. Mummy didn't like dogs and she said Uncle Sirius was enough of a pet by himself, a statement that Harry didn't understand, but made the adults crack up.

But the thought of Uncle Sirius made him pause, and he was struck with an idea.

"I know! I know who would take you Mr. Puppy if you haven't got a home!"

Both of the animals looked at him curiously.

"Uncle Remus and Uncle Sirius would! Uncle Sirius is always trying to get Uncle Remus to get a dog! They've even got a dog bed in their kitchen already! A dog bed with no dog in it! Uncle Remus and Uncle Sirius are really really nice Mr. Puppy! I stay at their house all the time! You'd really like it Mr. Puppy! They've got a great big field to play in and Uncle Sirius always gives us treats when Mummy's not looking—he'd give you treats too! And there's even a cat next door for you to chase!"

Harry was so taken with his brilliant idea that he didn't even notice the reindeer bobbing his head up and down, almost as if he was laughing.

The dog got up and bumped his nose against Harry's hand. Harry petted him some more, pleased that he had found a solution to the dog's problem.

Now for Mr. Reindeer. Harry didn't know what to do. He could send an owl to Father Christmas, but who knew how long that would take. Plus Father Christmas was probably at home sleeping after delivering presents all night. He wanted Mr. Reindeer to get home soon—he was probably very tired himself.

And once again he thought of his Daddy. Daddy could solve any problem for Harry. He was a big Auror and was always helping people who were in bad spots. He was a very powerful wizard—he knew Daddy could do anything. Even get lost reindeer back to the North Pole.

"I know what we can do to get you home Mr. Reindeer! Daddy can apparate you home! He can take another person with him when he apparates—I know 'cause that's how he takes me to school! He can ride you and then apparate you back to the North Pole!"

He was so pleased with his logic. He had managed to solve the problems of both animals in less than a half an hour. He turned towards the door, calling as he went:

"I'll go find Daddy right now, Mr. Reindeer! And then I'll ask Uncle Remus and Uncle Sirius for you when they come for Christmas dinner, Mr. Puppy!"

But he didn't get far, for the back door flung open and Lily Potter yelled "JAMES!" in a frightened voice. Harry was startled—he had never heard Mummy shout in such a way before.

But Lily Potter looked down and gave a cry of relief. She knelt down, scooped Harry into her arms and held him tightly.

"Harry Potter, you scared the life out of me! I couldn't find you! I thought something terrible had happened! What are you doing out here?"

"I'm talking to my new friends, Mummy! Mr. Reindeer and Mr. Puppy!"

He turned towards the animals, waving wildly at Lily.

"Mr. Reindeer and Mr. Puppy, this is my Mummy!"

Lily smiled, "Mr. Reindeer and Mr. Puppy eh?"

"Yes, Mummy! And I'm gonna help them! I'm gonna have Daddy apparate Mr. Reindeer back to the North Pole 'cause I think Father Christmas accidentally left him here! And Mr. Puppy doesn't have a home, so I'm gonna ask Uncle Remus and Uncle Sirius to 'dopt him! They've already got a bed for him to sleep on Mummy!"

Lily laughed and hugged Harry tightly. Her sweet, sweet little boy who had such a big heart.

"That's awfully nice of you, sweetheart, but I think both of these lovely animals already have homes."

"They do?"

"They do. It's very nice of you to try and help them, but I think they would prefer to do it on their own."

Harry looked at his two friends. They both seemed to be smiling at him. Harry felt calm. They were both big and strong. They knew what to do to get home. Mummy was right—as she always was.

"And Harry?"

"Yes, Mummy?"

"I think I should tell you something…your friends might prefer if you call them by their proper titles."

"What does that mean, Mummy?"

"Well Mr. Puppy isn't actually a puppy, so I think he'd prefer it if you call him Mr. Dog. And Mr. Reindeer's proper title is Mr. Stag."

"Mr. Stag and Mr. Dog," Harry repeated.

The two animals nodded their heads again. Harry clapped his hands, pleased that he was finally calling them what they wanted.

"Now you stay out here with your friends for a moment while I go fetch the camera all right?"

"All right, Mummy."

During Lily's brief departure, Harry settled himself between his two friends, flinging an arm over each of them. He was so happy. This was the best Christmas ever!

Lily came back out with her trusty camera. As she took the picture, Harry swore the animals were posing. Once the flash had cleared away, the two animals began to stand, careful to avoid stepping on Harry. They turned back towards the woods and Harry watched them go a bit sadly.

"Bye Mr. Dog and Mr. Stag!" he yelled.

Two heads turned back to look at him and Mr. Stag even lifted a hoof in response to Harry's wave. Harry clapped his hands together and sighed as they finally disappeared from sight.

"All right, let's get you inside dear. You must be freezing!" Lily murmured, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Mummy?" Harry had one last question.

"Yes, dear?"

"When you first came out, why did you yell for Daddy?"

"Well, I thought you were missing Harry dear. I was yelling so Daddy would come help me look for you."

Harry shook his head. Adults were so funny.

"That was silly, Mummy. Daddy's not outside! I would have seen him!"

Lily just smiled.

"He went out to cut wood for the fire, dear. I figured he might be close enough to hear me. I guess he went deeper into the woods than he originally planned."

They made their way into the house and Christmas breakfast preparations began. Amelia awoke and the Potter children looked under the tree at their presents. Finally James arrived with the wood and the Potters settled down to open stockings.

But as Harry ripped off the packaging of various items, he told his Daddy the amazing story of his new friends.

"And Mr. Stag and Mr. Dog were really nice, Daddy! They let me pet them on their noses!"

"And Mr. Stag was really tall, Daddy! Taller than me! Probably as tall as you! And Mr. Dog was GINORMOUS!"

"And Mr. Stag had the same eyes as you, Daddy!"

James just smiled.

And when Uncle Remus and Uncle Sirius arrived for Christmas dinner, they too heard the story of Mr. Stag and Mr. Dog.

"And I was gonna have you and Uncle Remus 'dopt Mr. Dog Uncle Sirius, but Mummy said he already had a home!"

"And I'm sure Uncle Remus is VERY glad Mr. Dog already has a home," Lily injected, "because Uncle Sirius is enough of a pet by himself!"

And like always, Harry looked confused while the adults laughed.

"Well Padfoot, sounds like we missed a good show! Imagine seeing a stag and a dog out playing together in my own backyard!" James exclaimed.

"Indeed my dear old chap Prongs, quite a nice show. But at least Harry got some fun out of it, didn't you Prongslet?"

James and Sirius exchanged a secret smile as Harry beamed.

For years, the picture of Harry and his two friends hung in the Potter stairway. Once he moved out, he took it with him. For even when the identities of his two friends came to light, the magic didn't fade. It really had been the best Christmas ever.


End file.
